Hello everyone! This chapter was really fun to write… And I know it has probably been a long week for you all in waiting for this update! I've been excited to get to this part of the story for months now!

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Thanos

Wednesday 30th May 2018

Sanctuary II

Thanos did not let go of Tony when they emerged from the portal onto his ship. He did loosen his grip, allowing Tony the chance to breathe. Still, he hung there, scrabbling at the arms as he was lifted up to look Thanos in the eye.

"Stark."

"Hi!" Tony managed.

Thanos squeezed his throat. "This is not a social visit."

"Right…" Tony wheezed. His throat was going to bruise in the morning. If I survive to the morning…

"You have information I want. And you are going to tell me."

"Really? I don't think –" Tony yelped as he was abruptly dropped to the floor, landing with a loud thud. Tony groaned, taking in mouthfuls of fresh air, massaging his bruised throat. He stayed his hand down his front, feeling for the Arc Reactor, only his fingers found nothing. Shit.

He'd been working on the Arc Reactor when Bruce had arrived with Doctor Strange. It had been in pieces… He'd been in the middle of reinserting the nanonites and he hadn't picked it up in his hurry to organise the others to get to the Conference room. He had no way to defend himself, no possible way to escape. He would have to improvise. He was good at improvising.

Tony got to his knees and looked up at Thanos who stood a few metres away from him. "What information?" He could feign ignorance, yet he was sure his attempts to do so would anger Thanos.

Thanos smirked. "I think you know what I mean, Stark. Stalling will get you nowhere."

Tony shrugged. "Worth a shot." Casting his eyes about, he took in his surroundings. He seemed to be in some sort of throne room. In the centre sat a throne. The room itself was dull and dreary and there was a slight draft on his skin. Above him was the roof with an opening, showing into the vastness of space. There had to be a force field in use, maintaining the gravity and breathable air. He could see the Space Stone sitting in the Gauntlet on Thanos' left hand. If he could somehow reach it…

He could try, however. Even if the attempt angered Thanos.

He bounded forward, never reaching Thanos as a portal opened up beneath his feet and he fell through, falling through another one, and then another and another, his vision getting dizzy as Thanos continued to throw him through portals he was making. It stopped when his back slammed into the wall and Thanos finally allowed him to slide down to the ground.

Blinking away the dizziness, Tony staggered to his feet, leaning on the wall for support.

Thanos smirked. "Don't try that again."

"Or what?" Tony dared, already knowing what his enemy would do.

He wasn't disappointed as his feet fell out from under him and he was being thrown with force through various portals before he slammed onto the deck of the ship and Thanos' boot landed on his chest, pressing down hard, restricting his breathing.

"You've always been an annoyance, Stark. I've watched you for a long time. You've interfered far too many times. Now you've gone too far."

"Have I?" he wheezed.

The boot pressed harder on his chest. Thanos leaned over him. "You have something I want."

"I doubt it," Tony retorted, determined to not make this easy for Thanos. He gripped the boot, knowing full well he would not be able to shift it. He glared at his captor.

Thanos pressed harder.

Tony couldn't breathe.

"You could make this easy, Stark. Tell me what I want to know and you may yet live. Where are the Infinity Stones?"

There was no point in attempting to deny he had the knowledge. Thanos clearly knew.

He formed his lips to form one syllable. "No," he hissed through the lack of air.

Thanos snarled, removed his boot from his chest and turned away from him, clutching his fist.

Tony knew what was coming before it even did. A portal formed beneath him and he fell through it before he even had the chance to move. But Thanos had transported him somewhere else as he fell into what looked like a large pit. Steadying himself on his feet, Tony glanced around at his new surroundings.

Thanos loomed down at him from above through the portal. "I have placed you within a Chitauri training ground. You have no means to defend yourself. The suit you have always relied upon is back on Earth. My warriors are expertly trained. They could tear you apart within seconds."

Tony swallowed. He didn't like the sound of this. If Thanos was going to throw his whole army at him then he was screwed. "You won't allow them to kill me though," he pointed out. "Killing me does not serve your goal in kidnapping me. If you wanted me dead, you'd have crushed my throat when you had me but you didn't." He was feeling a bit more confident now that he was talking back at his captor. "You need me to tell you where the Infinity Stones are. The simple answer is I do not know."

"I know you are lying, Stark. Ebony Maw told me what he saw on Xandar. I know you took the Stone, as you did with the one in the possession of The Collector. I've been biding my time, studying you. Spies have infiltrated Earth. I have known your every movement for months now. Do you believe you've been clever to hide things from me? You've failed." Thanos smirked.

Dread filled the pit of Tony's stomach. How had they not known? Thanos had been watching them for months now, specifically him…

"Your wedding was nice."

It was an offhanded comment, but it still sent shivers down Tony's spine. His throat felt dry. "No…" Horror washed through him at the implication the Titan had made at having spied on Tony's wedding without his knowledge. The worst part was he would know about Pepper and how much she meant to him. He'd use her against him.

Thanos never responded, only closing the portal, trapping Tony in the darkened and musky pit, waiting for the inevitable band of Chitauri that would come for him.

He was not alone for long before he could hear the sound of footsteps echoing around the pit. Casting his gaze about he saw several small tunnels built into the wall and from them marched Chitauri, daggers at the ready, their claws extended and their teeth bared as they marched closer towards Tony.

"Right… This is going to be problematic." He needed the Arc Reactor. Damn it! Why did I have to leave it in my lab?

Still, even if he did have his Arc Reactor, he doubted Thanos would have allowed him to keep it. He'd have had it ripped from him and then broken it into several shattering pieces, though he may have had a chance to activate it, even with Thanos strangling him. How much further he would have gone he didn't want to consider. He had bigger concerns right now: mainly the Chitauri surrounding him.

They attacked at once.

Tony ducked, rolled and kicked out as the Chitauri grabbed for him, slashing at the air he had just vacated with their claws, baring their teeth, snapping their jaws closed as they lunged for him. Tony didn't get far as several of them stopped his rolling with their feet.

Arms were grabbed and stretched and his legs as well despite his best efforts to kick them away from him. There were too many of them.

Gritting his teeth, he tried to raise his back, attempting to pull himself away from the grip the Chitauri had on him. They were pressing him down to the floor, daggers shining brightly in the darkness of the gloomy pit. Tony wrenched to the right, yet he was pushed down further.

Furious and desperate to try to escape, Tony twisted again, nearly dislocating his shoulder, briefly freeing his arm from the grip of his captors. Even as he tried to scrabble away, Tony felt stinging slashes fall across his body. Hisses were pulled from his lips as each Chitauri slashed their daggers over his skin, tearing his clothes.

Once again his arms were stretched out and his legs the same with one Chitauri to each limb, securing him in place.

"Hey, careful with the merchandise! I'm quite valuable you know!" he bellowed, still trying to struggle despite the hopelessness of the situation. There was nothing he could do to escape.

The daggers kept on descending. They left no place untouched, slitting his skin across his face, up and down his arms and legs, before finally lifting up his shirt.

One Chitauri stood over him, its head twisted to the side in curiosity, holding up his own dagger that was already dripping with droplets of Tony's blood.

It trailed its fingers down his stomach before placing the blade on the skin.

The skin stretched across its mouth as it 'smiled', pushing the dagger into Tony, slitting the skin and dragging it down, leaving a trail of blood upon his belly. Tony hissed in pain.

They released his hands and legs, and Tony took the opportunity to try to escape but it was fruitless.

No longer were they using the daggers to harm him, instead it was brute force, brute strength, hitting, punching and kicking. It was a vicious cycle, one he could not break. All he could do to defend himself was an attempt to protect his body as much as possible, tucking his head into his chest and wait for the abuse to end.

Thanos eventually retrieved him from the pit. He didn't know how long he had been down there for, only that his body ached and was covered in bruises. His clothes were torn and dried blood stained them.

He was dumped on the floor of Thanos' throne room once again, curling himself up into a protective ball to prevent further injury. He knew he wasn't safe from harm here and it was natural instinct to protect his body.

"The Chitauri can no longer hurt you," said Thanos gently.

"No, but you can," returned Tony.

"This can end if you tell me what I wish to know," explained the Titan quietly. "Where are the Stones?"

Tony's dried lips pressed together again. "No."

"A pity you wish to take the hard road, Stark. I'd rather not harm your brain. You have given me no other choice." Thanos' voice was hard and unwelcoming.

Tony rolled onto his back. There was no point in fighting, not when he would need all his mental strength to prevent Thanos from digging around in his brain. Besides he hurt too much to fight back, even when Squidward levitated him into the air and floated him out of the throne room. He had to conserve his strength and hope he was strong enough to stop them from rummaging through his brain.

There were no other words to describe this chamber other than 'torture chamber'. It was filled with various pieces of pain-inducing equipment and Tony tried to ignore looking at them and concentrate on preparing himself for what was to come.

Thanos watched as his captive was placed upon a slab, forced to lay straight, with his arms and legs chained to cuffs upon it. Another chain was pulled over Tony's throat, stopping him from moving his head.

"If you try to move you will damage your brain," the alien attending to Tony breathed. Squidward was even uglier close-up.

He winced, closing his eyes. Breathe, Tony, breathe. The fact that he was allowing this to happen to him without fighting back was a miracle in itself. He'd learned over the years which battles had to be fought and which ones had to be abandoned. This was one such case of needing to be abandoned.

Above him, Tony could see a helmet that was slowly being lowered. Small pinpricks of needles sat within it.

"This will hurt."

"Wait, Ebony Maw," said Thanos, striding forward to peer down at Tony. "One last chance, Stark, where are the Infinity Stones?"

Tony smirked as best as he could. "That's Squidward's name? I think I prefer Squidward."

Thanos snarled. "Hook him up."

Despite being chained to the slab, Tony did try to twist his head as the helmet was lowered. He wasn't able to move even an inch. He could feel the pinpricks of the needles against his skull. This was going to hurt…

Slipping his fingers beneath the back of Tony's head, Ebony Maw pressed two sticky pads to the back of his head. Despite the chain holding his head in place, he was still able to slip his fingers underneath. Next came two wires which were stuck to the back of Tony's neck on the pads.

"He's ready." Ebony Maw bowed at Thanos. "Would you like me to begin?"

Thanos nodded.

Tony closed his eyes, slowing his breathing. He knew what was coming, what they intended to do.

He jerked suddenly, a scream ripped from his throat as the needles were pushed in suddenly, penetrating his skull and into his brain. "Argh! Ow." He panted, trying to regain his breathing as pain rocked through his brain.

"You bought this on yourself, Stark," intoned Thanos as he stood in front of Tony, arms hanging loose at his sides. "You could have co-operated."

Tony gritted his teeth. "Never."

"Proceed. Let us find out what he is hiding from us."

Images started passing through Tony's brain and he slightly opened his eyes to see his own memories being projected out in front of him from a screen Squidward was controlling. Whatever the needles were doing they were about to accurately visualise Tony's memories for Thanos to transverse through. He could see himself as a child with his mother. His father was nowhere to be seen which was always typical of Howard Stark.

"Too far back. Go forward," Thanos decreed.

Tony winced as the needles seemed to twist in his skull, forcing through years of memories before stopping and showing himself and Pepper meet for the first time after she'd pepper-sprayed Happy for denying her access to his office without an appointment. She'd expected to be fired but she'd raised a crucial error Tony had made in his mathematics, something no one else had picked up on because they hadn't wanted to disagree with the genius. Pepper had been promoted to his personal assistant after that.

The image froze on her face.

"Your wife, the woman you love…" mused Thanos. "I could have her killed. I know what she looks like; I know where she lives and works. It would be so easy."

"Don't!" The word was pulled from Tony's mouth before he could stop it.

Thanos smirked. "She's a very beautiful specimen, one worthy of you. Consider yourself lucky at the moment I will allow her to live."

That wasn't reassuring in the slightest. It meant Thanos had her in his sights and if given the chance he would kill her, and Tony couldn't have that threat dangled over his head. As soon as he was able, he'd make sure Pepper was safe, even if it meant he'd have to lock her up until Thanos was dealt with.

"Look deeper," instructed Thanos.

Tony felt the needles moving again and grimaced as he tried to maintain some control of what Thanos could see. Yet he didn't seem to be able to. As soon as he attempted to defend certain memories, the needles in his brain kept attacking the memories; meaning to avoid interest in them, he'd have to stop thinking about them.

It didn't work.

Tony's defences were not working.

"You cannot defend your memories from us," Squidward explained. "The needles are designed to disrupt any natural defences you may have. Human biology has not evolved enough for you to be able to withstand a mind probe."

Shit. His defences were useless. He'd got himself into this situation, believing he'd be able to at least defend himself. He was going to give Thanos everything.

"No!" he shouted out in desperation as images of his memories were projected out in front of him. He could see himself as Iron Man in New York, during the time Thanos' forces had originally struck. Tony squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to prove them wrong about being unable to defend himself, yet no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not stop them.

He'd find out everything. He would know…

They watched every major event which had happened to him as a member of the Avengers before they began the scroll through the Accords situation.

The only problem was, was the memories they were seeing were of the first time he had lived through it, not seeing the changes he had made when he'd come back with Natasha. Would Thanos notice the difference? If he'd been spying on Tony for a while he'd probably made an effort to research him.

Knowing there was nothing he could do against the mind probe, Tony kept his eyes closed, trying to ignore the flashes of memory being brought forth. He tried to think of something else, anything to distract himself but the mind probe was efficient. It kept him concentrated on the memories, unable to distract himself from the horror he was being forced to endure.

"What is this?" Thanos leaned forward. "This memory…"

They were now at Tony's memory of the airport fight. Tony pursed his lips. Thanos would come asking questions, he was sure of it.

"This didn't happen…" Thanos concluded. "My spies told me how the Accords were settled and there were no such fractions within the Avengers…" He turned his dark eyes upon Tony. "Perhaps he has found a way to suppress the memory device."

Tony wished that was true. If he could convince Thanos that these were fake memories, perhaps he could still find a way to salvage this situation before Thanos went too far into Tony's memories for his search of the Infinity Stones? It was possible…

Squidward shattered Tony's hopes before he could offer up a response.

"No, they are real memories. They are provoking emotions from him."

"How is this possible?" Thanos leaned over Tony. "What are you hiding from us, Stark? Increase the power. I want to know everything."

Switches were flipped and knobs turned as a powerful electric current zapped into Tony's brain, electing a scream tearing from his throat. His memories continued to flow through his brain, projecting out by the machine attached to his head.

Thanos saw everything.

The fight in Siberia Tony had fought against Steve and Bucky over the murder of his parents, his mentorship with Peter in the following months were also memories he perused through, and then the memories stopped as Squidward paused the machine as he came across his own image in Tony's head and their first encounter in New York when they had come to retrieve the Time Stone from Doctor Strange.

"I have never visited your planet!" the alien snarled in Tony's face. "How could you have memories of me?"

Tony refused to answer, closing his eyes and defiantly ignoring the anger in Squidward's voice.

"Keep looking," instructed Thanos. "Whatever he is hiding, we will find it. He cannot defend himself against this."

The memories continued to scroll through Tony's head. He couldn't stop it, couldn't prevent them from seeing the future he had already lived. How far would they go?

"So you've met me before, Tony Stark?" Thanos' voice interrupted Tony's inner monologue.

Tony still kept his eyes closed. He knew what they were seeing: Titan, the planet which had haunted his nightmares for years afterward, and his encounter with Thanos there. He refused to speak or articulate any words, just swallowing the lump in his throat as he fought to maintain his posture.

"You're from the future, aren't you?" Thanos stated conversationally.

He tried to ignore it.

"How did you do it? You understand we will find out regardless of whether you speak or not."

"I know," whispered Tony. There was no point in maintaining his silence when he recognised the inevitable was going to happen. They'd keep on digging into his brain. He just didn't want Thanos to learn about Morgan, but the deeper they pried the more they'd see.

"For you to have come back, I must have succeeded in my goal to obtain all the Infinity Stones," deduced Thanos. "You've been changing things to prevent it from happening."

Tony didn't answer.

"I saw myself in your memory there with not just one Infinity Stone but four," deduced Thanos. "This only further proves you are indeed from the future."

"Does it?" drawled Tony. "Maybe I dreamt it."

"The mind probe picks up memories only. Fake illusions or images from the imagination cannot fool it." Thanos turned his sharp gaze upon Tony who had finally opened his eyes, still lying there chained to the slab. "And that is how you already know where the Stones were. You already knew. You've rewritten time."

"Think you may be jumping to conclusions there!" Tony attempted to deny Thanos' leap in logic. He recognised he wouldn't be able to dissuade Thanos from believing it. He'd already worked it out for himself. Once the Titan was sure of something it was difficult to convince him otherwise.

"I do not believe I am, Stark," replied Thanos. He reached out a hand to stroke a finger down Tony's cheek.

If Tony could have shivered at the touch he would have but he was too tightly restrained to react to the unwelcome one.

"Even if you tell me what I want to know, I will not stop this mind probe on you. You have far too much valuable information in your brain that I cannot afford to not to see."

Tony swallowed. He'd find out everything.

"Continue, Maw," instructed the Titan.

Tony winced as the needles continued their work, twisting inside his brain, electing electrical surges, forcing his memories out for them to view. Tony locked his fingers into fists in an attempt of defiance. The images continued to flash forward showing Thanos the outcome of his philosophy as the Earth struggled to move on in the light of losing half of its population in one fell swoop.

"You married later than you did here," mused Thanos. He was now seeing the small ceremony Tony and Pepper had had for their wedding after the Decimation.

Please don't show him Morgan. Please don't –

Tony's inner protestations didn't work.

"You have a child…"

Tony could see Morgan as a baby in his head, her chubby little cheeks, and waft of brown hair and her small nose as he held her in his arms a few months after she had been born. Her tiny fingers wrapped around his index finger and she gurgled sleepily as they sat out on the porch together watching the stars above the sky.

The memories went by more slowly as Thanos sought to see everything of Morgan. It was a form of torture for Tony, forcing him to see his life with Morgan before the Avengers had turned up to ask for his help.

Each memory tore Tony's heart. Morgan didn't exist yet and she may now never exist especially if Thanos killed him once he had learned what Tony had done with the Stones. It could be possible killing Tony would mean the Infinity Stones power would be released from him, enabling Thanos to use it himself, especially considering Tony still wasn't able to access them himself. And he had no chance of doing so whilst chained to this slab.

An image of Morgan paused in the air above them. Wetness adorned Tony's eyes as he saw his beautiful, little girl, projected above him.

"A daughter… Such a lovely creature…"

"Don't you dare!" yelled Tony, anger coursing through him.

Thanos smirked. "She does not yet exist. She may never exist. After I am done with you, you will die. The threat you pose to me will end. With all the power of the Stones at my disposal, I can will your daughter into existence and she will become my daughter."

"NO!" Tony tried to pull himself free, could feel hotness in his chest as he tried with all his might to break free.

Thanos smirked. "Yes. Ebony Maw would love to have another little sister to take care of, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, my lord," Ebony Maw bowed his head, ensuring Tony could see his action.

Tony tugged at his restraints. "If you dare touch her -!"

"You'll do what, Stark? You'll be dead. You will not be able to stop me."

Tony couldn't stop the few tears from falling from his eyes. He knew what Thanos had done to Nebula. He couldn't stand the thought Morgan may suffer the same way.

Thanos stepped away; satisfied he'd caused his prisoner enough mental pain for now. "Let's continue. What else are you hiding from me, Stark?"

Images continued to flash past as the needles continued to bury themselves inside Tony's brain. With each little push a little gasp was pushed from his mouth as Tony lay there, his body feeling weak from the amount of mental pressure being put on his brain.

"Fascinating, you invented time travel…" Thanos said. "This is how you came back… Did you go too far, Stark, and end up here and decided to stay? Did you kill the other version of yourself in order to slot yourself in? How did you make yourself younger?"

Tony didn't answer. Thanos would soon find out the full truth. At the moment he didn't care. He wanted this to be over.

"My lord," Ebony Maw said quietly, "this isn't how he came back…"

Thanos returned his attention to the images. They saw as the Time Heist unfolded and Tony's return to the Avengers Compound in 2023 after obtaining the Infinity Stone he had been after. What followed was reliving the Battle of Earth and for Tony that was devastating, knowing what was to come. It wouldn't be long before Thanos would see he'd just wake up in the past after dying.

Thanos seemed particular fascinated by his own attack on Earth. He didn't seem to be aware this was an alternate version of himself the Avengers were fighting.

And that was when it happened.

Alternate Thanos had the glove with all the Stones in, battled Captain Marvel off like she was an irritating fly and was about to snap his fingers to end all life in the universe when Tony tackled him.

"You're brave to try that…" smirked Thanos to his captive.

Tony gritted his teeth.

Thanos' expression changed as it was revealed Tony had taken the Stones himself, said a witty one-liner and snapped his fingers.

Just moments later Tony watched himself die.

Thanos stepped back slightly and looked at his prisoner. "You died… How come you are here?"

Tony bit his lower lip. "I don't know. I just… just…"

Ebony Maw interrupted his words. "My lord?"

"What is it?" hissed Thanos.

Ebony Maw paused, scrutinising the screen. "Sire, there is something here… In his brain. A barrier… He's hiding something from us. He does have defences."

Thanos stood over Tony's trembling form. "What are you hiding, Stark?"

Tony's teeth chattered together. "'No…thing…" He had no idea what this barrier was in his brain. Why did he have one? Why weren't his memories of waking up in 2016 being projected out? What was this barrier?

What concerned him most was Thanos' instructions to Maw. "Break it down. I want to know what he's hiding."

"My calculations predict a high pulse frequency, followed by needles inserted into the neural pathway should break the barrier down. It is risky… We could fry his brain." Ebony Maw stated.

"Do it," ordered Thanos. "We still need to find out what he's done with the Infinity Stones. What we've seen so far shows a life he already lived and died in. Those memories do not help us now. This barrier may be the key to giving us all the information we need."

If there was one thing Tony knew was that Thanos could not be allowed to break down that barrier. It was eliciting fear in him as he wondered what was hidden behind it. Why was he feeling terrified of what was hidden from him?

"I do not believe he knows what is hidden behind this barrier…" Ebony Maw concluded. "His vitals are changing, showing concern but also confusion…" He peered at Tony. "Memories after death?"

Tony could feel his heart rate spiking, could feel the fear pulsing through him and he had no idea why it was terrifying him so much. Whatever was behind the barrier Thanos had found inside his memories, a part of him must still have ingrained feelings of what they were. It was enough to cause this reaction in him.

"The high pulse frequency has been calculated. The needles are repositioning now."

Tony couldn't help but scream as the needles pulled out of his brain, repositioned themselves and then viciously pushed back into the base of his skull. He would have leapt off the slab if he'd been free. He couldn't stop screaming.

"A crack has formed in the barrier," advised Ebony Maw over Tony's screams.

"Again," instructed Thanos. "Until it breaks down."

The needles retracted and then were pushed back in.

Tony's screams only got louder. His throat hurt and he knew he would not be able to take much more of this.

The needles were pulled out again and he jerked, screamed as they were inserted once again.

Flashes appeared in front of his eyes, flickering memories he knew he had never experienced but were there, closed off behind this barrier that Thanos was forcing Maw to break down.

Six figures stood around him as he lay on a flat surface.

"We're sorry we have to do this to you…" One stroked his burnt and bloodied face.

He gurgled blood.

"It is necessary…" another replied.

"What is this?" hissed Thanos.

Tony's body was shaking as much as it was possibly able to do in his bonds. He was terrified, utterly terrified.

Tony was naked. The six figures were moving around him, touching, prodding, healing his injuries.

"He cannot handle our power… No human can."

"Then we must remake him."

More flashes erupted in front of his eyes.

His throat was sore from screaming. "NO! STOP! PLEASE! DON'T! NO MORE! LET ME DIE!"

He tried to fight them off.

They grabbed his head, pushing needles into his brain, injecting fluids directly into his brain, pushing more needles all over his body.

"Your cells need to be changed, Tony…"

"You need it…"

"Sire, this is-"

Maw's voice was cut off as Tony screamed as his whole body grew so hot, burning hot and something seemed to erupt from his body, an almighty flash and everything went dark.

When Tony woke he was lying on the floor of the torture chamber. His head ached and hurt as if his brain was pounding against his skull, desperate to be let out. He rubbed it gently. "What? What happened?" Gently, he shook his head and raised his head.

He was not alone.

But he was the only one awake.

Both Thanos and Squidward were lying unconscious on the floor.

"Did… did I do that?" he asked, talking to himself.

But what drew his attention was the Space Stone, glittering in Thanos' Gauntlet.

Legs shaky and arms weak, Tony managed to haul himself across the room towards Thanos' prone body. He reached out for the Stone and plucked it straight from the Gauntlet, letting it roll into the palm of his hand.

The last Infinity Stone… He had retrieved the last Infinity Stone!

As he watched, the Space Stone began to sink into the palm of his hand, his hand and then his whole arm shining blue as he absorbed it, the warm feeling in his chest appearing and then fading as the Stone fully sunk into his hand.

He couldn't help but smile despite the dire situation he was in. He'd got the Stones… All of them…

"Give that back, Stark!"

Tony hadn't noticed Thanos had risen from his slumber.

Scrambling backward, Tony tried to get to his feet but his whole body felt like it was going to crumble. He was tired, so very tired.

Thanos was already up and moving towards him, grabbing a dagger from one of the other tables in the room. "You're dead, Stark. There is no escaping me this time!" He cocked his head slightly to the side, a nasty smile crossing his face. "And your precious little girl will be mine."

"NO! YOU WON'T EVER TOUCH HER!" Tony bellowed.

"Yes, she will," smiled Thanos. "In your head are the plans for time travel. I could create my own and take her from the future."

"If you kill me, she won't ever exist," stated Tony, though he knew that wasn't the case. If Nebula had known the concept of time travel, it was likely Thanos did too.

Thanos stalked forward. "Nothing is set in stone. If your original timeline still exists, I will take her from there. If one can move back in time as you did originally, one can always move forward. Believe me, I will find a way to bring your precious daughter back here and turn her into one of my own children."

No, not Morgan! Definitely not Morgan!

Tony moved back, attempting to get to his feet but Thanos was there, dagger in his left hand. Attempting to ward his attacker off, Tony grabbed Thanos' wrist with his right hand, trying to push it back. His knees were buckling under the strain of trying to force Thanos back.

His chest was warming.

Thanos grabbed Tony's left wrist, wrestling to push it back, moving Tony further back to advance the dagger towards Tony's chest, for a killing blow.

"You cannot beat me, Stark." Thanos hissed, pushing the dagger further down.

Tony snarled, gritting his teeth together as he continued to push back. "You may beat me, but you will never touch my DAUGHTER!"

There was a flash of light blinding them both momentarily, Thanos almost losing his grip on Tony's left wrist.

As their vision returned, Tony couldn't help but notice the glow surrounding his body. His hands were showing cascades of energy of six different colours: yellow, green, red, purple, orange and blue.

The colours of the Infinity Stones.

He felt burning power rushing up his arms, invigorating his tired and bruised body.

"What the-?" Thanos gasped, his face becoming darker and more menacing as he witnessed the power covering Tony's entire body.

Tony's whole body was alight with dazzling energy.

Staring Thanos in the face, and with all his might, Tony pushed the Titan back, finally freeing himself from the monster's grip.

Tony breathed in deep breaths, stood with his legs apart; feeling stronger and healthier then he had been in a long time.

He held up his glowing, multi-coloured hand. "Now, Thanos, where were we?"

To be continued…

Please let me know what you think!

Another cliffhanger, hopefully a better one than the one I left at the end of the last chapter? If anyone would like to see illustrations of this story please go to my tumblr page (same name as on this website) and you will see an illustration of the moment Tony gains his powers!

Just a few points I'd like to make:

Thanos is a lot more conversational in this chapter. He is more like his Infinity War self where he does talk to his opponents more as opposed to his Endgame self where he is far more interested in fighting and killing than talking.

Thanos has been gathering a lot of intelligence on Tony since New York, and has upped his surveillance upon him meaning he did have people watching from afar when Tony and Pepper married...

Tony was referring to Ebony Maw as Squidward for a while in this chapter and then went to Maw when things got quite serious for him. He lost his jokey demeanour as he realised how much serious trouble he was in.

Realistically, Thanos threats to Morgan are only possible if he gets all the Stones and creates her since if he kills Tony, Morgan will not ever be conceived. It would be Thanos' ultimate punishment for Tony, to take and corrupt Morgan.

Tony's powers and the way they are illustrated do bare a resemblance to Captain Marvel's however he has the power of the universe at his hands, whereas Carol only had the Space Stone's influence. So their appearance with their powers may be similar, but Tony has so many abilities now he's unleashed them, there will be vast differences between them.

The next chapter is entitled: Tony Unleashed!

To be posted next Sunday 9th February 2020!

Until then,

the-writer1988